Vincent Manoharan is an Indian activist and founder of the National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), an independent human rights watchdog committed to the elimination of caste discrimination. For thousands of years Dalits have suffered humiliation, discrimination, and exclusion for being born into a social and cultural system which fundamentally conflicts with the notion that all human beings are born free with equal rights. NCDHR documents human rights violations and provides legal assistance to victims. He also founded the International Dalit Solidarity Network, and is a a recipient of the Rafto Prize.

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Sixty years after the Indian Constitution was written, which protected human rights and illegalized discrimination on the basis of race, religion or caste, “untouchability," is still practiced in India, and millions of Dalits remain victims of discrimination. Dalits, often referred to as: “untouchables," are at the bottom of India’s caste system. They constitute 167 million of India’s 1 billion citizens; as Manoharan points out, “If Dalits were to form a nation it would be the sixth largest country on earth with 2.5 percent of the world’s population." For thousands of years, Dalits have endured physical oppression, threats, violence, abuse, and other forms of discrimination, including limited access to housing, education, healthcare, and employment opportunities. The NCDHR states that according to conservative official statistics, thirteen Dalits are murdered and five Dalit homes are destroyed every week; and three Dalit women are raped and eleven Dalits are assaulted every day. A crime is committed against a Dalit every 18 minutes.

The Indian government has done little to enforce legislation banning caste discrimination. Often caste discrimination is ignored altogether, on the grounds that since it is unconstitutional, it could not possibly exist. Manoharan grew up with a sense of frustration at the apathy in government, the impunity of police and the judiciary, and the influence of a political elite dominated by high-caste members. In 1998, Manoharan jointly founded the NCDHR with other activists concerned about Dalits’ human rights.

The NCDHR documents human rights abuses committed against Dalits, provides legal assistance to victims of discrimination, and lobbies nationally and internationally to promote the human rights of the Dalits. Manoharan’s frustration at the unenforced Indian Constitution and unimplemented safeguards against caste discrimination in India motivated him to make the issue known internationally. The International Dalit Solidarity Network was created throughout Europe and the U.S.

Thanks to the NCDHR and Manoharan’s efforts, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) strongly condemned “descent-based discrimination, such as discrimination on the basis of caste," in 2002. In December 2006, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared, “The only parallel to the practice of untouchability was apartheid in South Africa. It is not just social discrimination. It is a blot on humanity." After years of Indian politicians ignoring the plight of the Dalits, this was an important step. In 2007, the US House of Representatives passed a resolution calling caste discrimination illegal, a move that may affect Indian companies that conduct business with the US. And, the new strategic management plan for the United Nations Human Rights Program named caste discrimination as one of its priorities for 2010 to 2011.

In 2007, Manoharan and the NCDHR received the Rafto Prize for their efforts in promoting the rights of Dalits and for their assertion that discrimination arising from the caste system violates international human rights law.